[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6063120,"mediaKeyId","3270727-832f45bd6bd2c2672fdaeaffd79d983b","parentId",3270727,"title","Link Oregon briefs committee on middle‑mile fiber, education and research plans","audioSeconds",2304,"startMs",1168000,"endMs",3472000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3270727-832f45bd6bd2c2672fdaeaffd79d983b&start=1168&end=3472","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3270727-832f45bd6bd2c2672fdaeaffd79d983b/thumbnail_1168000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6063120/Oregon/Link-Oregon-briefs-committee-on-middlemile-fiber-education-and-research-plans","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6063120-cff1e87ad92fc926496eaaaea3907ea6/orig.mp4?Expires=1770873442&Signature=fJ04XpxVrnTNDRm7uVMcCqOQVVW5BPGXQW4SRXpD6K9fqahsfOlJNLS3pi7a-dt9pNpQVCOUutT4i5N0ZW1qSF2jYh4QtnOnCTpwEX5nrw--DUcbZh6V8h0HVfMeszh25AEUyRGJ3iGD9wWzm0Ds-fP0d47DHP9zhU8f6pEfScr8ZXCp24jsSVbOIGKUJhgDOmkPXnzY7lXgiHb~CVFWwqOc9VccqwBobdN3xlMqTyuOWQwdu6geWcVpY1~8DZQ8RtICzJtLC47Wi6eCpYd7jqEPBfdkoQ3OR7ZTnGSzx~TTL4M4pDj18ZO7EZwXkct~NcRtk6WDAKvZ5VA-fh0gVw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon Legislature","date","2025-05-09T00:00:00Z","article","SALEM, Ore. — Steve Corvato, executive director of the Oregon Fiber Partnership (doing business as Link Oregon), briefed the Joint Committee on Information, Management, and Technology on May 9 about the nonprofit’s middle‑mile fiber network, its role connecting public institutions and plans to upgrade capacity for research computing.

Link Oregon was established following 2018 legislation that allowed public bodies beyond state government to access the state’s fiber network. Corvato said the partnership links state government and the four founding public research universities and has expanded to serve cities, counties, schools, libraries, special districts and nonprofit institutions. “We are a non profit organization and we did that for a reason,” Corvato told the committee, and described Link Oregon as “an advanced middle mile network.”

Why it matters: Link Oregon provides backbone infrastructure that complements last‑mile broadband funding, supports K–20 and higher‑education collaboration, enables research computing and offers resiliency for emergency and hazard detection systems.

Corvato said Link Oregon manages roughly 635 state locations and operates a network built on long‑term leases (indefeasible rights to use) of fiber acquired from multiple commercial providers. He described the organization’s current annual budget as about $8 million, with roughly $7 million for operations. State participation through Enterprise Information Services has provided about $20 million across multiple biennia; Corvato also said Link Oregon received $8.4 million from CARES Act funding in June 2020 to accelerate builds in southern and eastern Oregon.

Education and research were central topics. Corvato said Link Oregon is pursuing a state K–20 network and has been onboarding education service districts, estimating that recent additions bring the partnership to about 60% of Oregon students connected through the network. He described a planned rollout of an authentication and roaming system (eduroam/“edge roam”) to let students and faculty move between institutions and public libraries with a seamless login experience. On questions about home connectivity, Corvato said the roaming technology does not yet extend to district‑issued cellular hotspots because of current licensing conditions: \"Right now, the edge of Rome does not offer that capability.\"

Corvato also detailed research‑computing plans tied to recent philanthropy and campus investments. He said a major donor and industry partner are funding a campus supercomputer and that Link Oregon will be the gateway for wider access. To meet the demand, the nonprofit plans a minimum viable upgrade to deliver 400‑gigabit capacity to key locations; Corvato gave a capital estimate of about $1.1 million and recurring costs of about $100,000 to begin that work.

Corvato touched on resilience and statewide gaps. He described wildfire and other infrastructure risks that can sever critical fiber and said the organization and state partners are examining redundancy and disaster recovery; he gave the example of emergency responders using Starlink terminals after a wildfire damaged fiber. He urged continued attention to middle‑mile gaps even as substantial federal last‑mile funding is deployed.

Corvato also said he will retire in about two months and that his successor has been identified but not yet announced to the committee. Lawmakers who asked questions praised Link Oregon’s role in narrowing urban–rural digital divides and asked staff to circulate a prior middle‑mile report and materials referenced during the briefing. Committee staff also said they would send information about a recent U.S. Senate action concerning E‑Rate funding for school and library Wi‑Fi hotspots.

The co‑chairs closed the informational meeting after committee members requested follow‑up materials and scheduling information about future briefings.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Committee On Information Management and Technology 05/09/2025 8:30 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Steve Corvato, executive director of the Oregon Fiber Partnership (Link Oregon), told the Joint Committee on Information, Management, and Technology on May 9 that the nonprofit operates a statewide middle‑mile fiber network supporting universities, public entities and K–20 education, and outlined funding, upgrades and research‑computing plans.","taxTitle","Information Management and Technology, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",18221,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6063126,"Committee adopts amendment narrowing basis for Oregon ban on certain AI on state IT",424,62000,486000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3270727-832f45bd6bd2c2672fdaeaffd79d983b&start=62&end=486","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3270727-832f45bd6bd2c2672fdaeaffd79d983b/thumbnail_62000.jpg","/articles/6063126/Oregon/Committee-adopts-amendment-narrowing-basis-for-Oregon-ban-on-certain-AI-on-state-IT","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6063126-0ced311a56948529065490ef4da1306f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770873442&Signature=W8vZgFQDqXsWMsbvXpaj-DtJxDcZGFAqW0wJs7yo13pHg3cK7gRGVLdyZ3imWkekHyt3p32zZLdbwinasuAP9FQZXCp0qPAVfWKivv38pBAb8YeVbtv~E66-fzDTjX81gVek0~Jsn2VkzRlLA1mtQuSCb-vkZsbL5UEAvpAEpYPhtGo1KDncj-0Q3skvps~BHN0XI19C169nmdRaZMp13pvyhyLq8pDeLzfCubpAySYpPiIdTt~MKD-a~GdcADAO~bdxCcU4KlAXYfU1O5bGbmo-x-lW-3F-W7C19E4b3HiUpBHo8t988ybZmD5~3lxpGXoKUSgEqGNLERqayYwRKg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","SALEM, Ore. — The Joint Committee on Information, Management, and Technology on May 9 adopted a Dash-1 amendment to House Bill 3936 that changes how the state would bar some artificial‑intelligence tools from use on state information technology assets.

The amendment, described to the committee by staffer Sean, removes language that would have prohibited software, hardware or services “developed or owned by a corporate entity that is incorporated or registered under the laws of a foreign country,” and instead ties exclusion to whether a covered vendor or product poses “a national security threat to the country, or a cyber security threat to the state of Oregon.” Sean told the committee the bill “prohibits any hardware, software, or service that uses artificial intelligence from being installed or downloaded onto or used or accessed by state information technology assets if the artificial intelligence is developed or owned by a corporate entity that is incorporated or registered under the laws of a foreign country.”

Why it matters: the change shifts the bill from a blunt country‑of‑origin test to a risk‑based process that relies on the existing statutory mechanism used in Oregon to identify vendors that are national security or cybersecurity threats. Committee members said that approach avoids barring multinational vendors solely because of corporate registration and focuses instead on operational risks to state systems.

Committee discussion and guidance came largely around definitions and the vendor‑listing process. Senator Solman, who said she had not attended the bill’s public hearing, asked whether the Dash‑1 definition would “establish overall the definition for AI for the state of Oregon moving forward.” Sean replied that the definition in the amendment was pulled from a task force established earlier in 2024 and is “grounded in the definitions that are used for the federal government, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, and and other federal rules or standards,” but that including the definition in this bill would not automatically make it compulsory for all future legislation.

On how specific companies are added or removed from the state’s exclusion list, Sean told the committee that House Bill 3127 (2023) charged the State Chief Information Officer with adopting Oregon Administrative Rules and policies to identify additional vendors and products that may be national‑security risks and to add or remove vendors from the list. He cited a February administrative action that added DeepSeek AI under that existing procedure because some states found the product was sending data through foreign servers.

The committee adopted the Dash‑1 amendment on a roll‑call vote and then moved to report the bill to the floor. The committee recorded multiple “aye” votes during both roll calls; after the final motion to report the bill out “with a do pass as amended recommendation,” the motion passed and co‑carriers were identified to carry the bill to the full chambers. Committee staff told members the bill has no fiscal impact and does not require a subsequent referral to Ways and Means, so it will proceed straight to the floor.

Members emphasized a broader policy point raised in the discussion: several legislators urged continued attention to statewide cyber security coordination. Senator Solman and other members said that centralizing some IT functions could improve cybersecurity and save money compared with every agency maintaining its own separate experts.

The chair closed the work session and assigned co‑carriers to carry the bill to the floor. The committee also indicated it will provide materials from the earlier public hearing on the vendor list and the task force work to members who asked for more background.","The Joint Committee on Information, Management, and Technology on May 9 adopted a Dash-1 amendment to House Bill 3936 that replaces a country-of-origin prohibition with a national-security/cybersecurity risk test and reported the bill out with a \"do pass as amended\" recommendation.","actionData","errors"]

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Link Oregon briefs committee on middle‑mile fiber, education and research plans

Committee adopts amendment narrowing basis for Oregon ban on certain AI on state IT